Social Media

Picnik Updates its "Basket" with Batch Uploads and More

While Flickr was busy working on its new slide show features, another growing photo-sharing site, Picnik, was busy adding some new features of its own. All users will be able to preview the new features, while Premium account holders will get unlimited access. The new "Picnik Basket" gives premium users the option of batch uploading up to 100 photos at once, which is always a relief when you're adding photos to a media-sharing site and was unsurprisingly users' most requested feature.

Other new options for Picnik Basket include photo layering and photo collage tools, which grant users more ways in which to display their images. These two effects for photo album viewing introduce more creative ways that users can show off a group of photos. Photo layering lets you drag and drop multiple photos on a single work surface, and then blend them together for a new effect. Premium account holders will have unlimited capabilities with this option while free users can work with up to 5 images. The photo collage tool lets users customize borders, control the aspect ratio of photos, and more. Free users can try this out with up to 36 images, while Premium account holders get free reign.

Since emerging onto the photo-sharing scene, Picnik has focused on the quality of its editor more than anything else, and the peripheral features came later. We've seen a lot of development on the added feature side of Picnik in recent months, as the company continues to reach out to a wider user base through the promotion of its product, direct integration with other sites and services like MySpace and Box.net, as well as free options for all users and additional benefits for premium users.

With services like Photobucket having a stronghold on photo effects, and ongoing merging of several other photo-sharing services with third-party sites (i.e. Photobucket and Scrapblog's recent partnership), the competition is heightened and the necessity for inclusive creative, sharing and distributive features is very much reflected in Picnik's strategy thus far.

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